Siena v Juventus Preview and Betting Tips

Sunday September 18 2011, 2pm GMT

Juventus marked their first competitive game at the Juventus Arena with a comprehensive 4-1 win over Parma. New signing Andrea Pirlo played a central role in dismantling the visitors, and Pirlo’s fellow Juve debutants Arturo Vidal and Stefan Lichtsteiner were among the goals.

Newly-promoted Siena picked up a point at Catania, which is a decent achievement for any team. Giuseppe Sannino’s men are a solid outfit, and I expect them to cause problems for a lot of their opponents this season, but if Antonio Conte’s Bianconeri can dominate possession in the manner which they did last week they will pick up another three points on Sunday.

Prediction – Juventus to win – 4pts

Match Odds:            Siena          4/1

                             Draw         12/5

                             Juventus    7/10

Serie A - week 1 results

Catania        0-0    Siena

Chievo         2-2    Novara        

Fiorentina    2-0    Bologna      

Genoa         2-2    Atalanta      

Juventus      4-1    Parma         

Lecce          0-2    Udinese      

Palermo       4-3    Inter 

Roma          1-2    Cagliari       

Cesena        1-3    Napoli

AC Milan      2-2    Lazio

              *****

There will be no weekly round-up available this season (due to time constraints), but I will continue to post the results after each series of Serie A games – as has been requested by a number of readers - and I will also update the league table.

Previews will be available on Friday afternoon every week, as was the case last season.

Feel free to email any feedback or requests you might have!

Serie A 2011/12 Kicks Off!

Following a resolution of the issues which necessitated a player's strike, the Italian league kicks off tomorrow evening as reigning champions AC Milan welcome Lazio to the San Siro. Napoli visit Cesena on Saturday, while the other 16 top flight clubs begin their campaigns on Sunday.


I won't attempt to predict any results until at least the first week or two of the new season have passed, and we get an idea of what to expect. The only game which catches the eye from this first round of fixtures is Cagliari's visit to Roma on Sunday afternoon. While Roma are deserved favourites, the odds are very short at 1/2. The hosts have a new manager (Luis Enrique) - and some quality attacking signings in Bojan and Eric Lamela - but they have also lost some important players, and their Europa League defeat at the hands of Slovan Bratislava suggests that the team may take some time to gel. As I said, Roma really should open their campaign with a home win on Sunday, but Cagliari +1 may be worth a tiny 'fun' bet at 6/4.


Happy new season!

Players' Strike Delays Start of Serie A Season

Italian top-flight footballers have followed the actions of their compatriots in Spain by refusing to line out for the opening games of the season due to a dispute over contracts. The failure of the player's union to reach agreement with the league over certain matters meant that there were no Serie A fixtures this weekend in Italy. 


Hopefully the season will kick off on September 10th, after the international fixtures which are scheduled for this coming weekend.

On the beach...

Del's Football Tips is currently on holiday, and will return when the Serie A season resumes. Click "like" on the Del's Football Tips Facebook page (the button is on your right-hand-side) to ensure you will be notified the next time a match preview is posted here.

Enjoy your summer!